Wanted: Gilas coach

Wanted: Gilas coach | Daily Tribune

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is hitting the reset button by hiring a mentor who can handle Gilas Pilipinas full-time.

No shortlist has been released, but sideliners have floated the names of two coaches — Tim Cone and Brian Goorjian — who could fill the void created by the resignation of Chot Reyes.

Cone is the runaway favorite.

The incumbent Barangay Ginebra mentor is the winningest coach in the history of the Philippine Basketball Association, with 25 titles laced with two grand slams — the first with Alaska in 1996 and the second with San Mig Coffee in 2014.

Recently, he made history by becoming the first coach to lead Gilas Pilipinas to the gold medal at the 19th Asian Games after a 61-year title drought.

He also led the Filipinos to a gold medal at the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Manila and a bronze medal when the Asian Games were held in Bangkok in 1998.

But more than all the accolades, Cone’s leadership and charisma make him a popular choice among local basketball fans. Although he is an American, he speaks the local language, having lived in the country since he was nine years old and being married to a Filipina.

His star power shone even brighter when he coached Ginebra — the country’s most popular professional team — to a dramatic victory over the Bay Area Dragons in last year’s best-of-seven finals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Then, in the knockout stages of the Asian Games, he masterminded an upset of perennial powerhouse teams Iran and China before slaying Jordan, making him a superhero in the eyes of Filipino fans.

So, if the SBP will go for optics to boost its public image that got heavily battered during Reyes’ era, there’s no doubt the 66-year-old Cone is their guy.

But the international arena is no popularity contest. While the federation values the importance of winning the hearts and minds of basketball fans, it is also aware that there is a far more decorated mentor willing to call the shots for Gilas Pilipinas — Goorjian.

The 70-year-old US-born Australian has a resumé that makes him the logical choice to handle the national squad.

In Australia, he is a coaching legend. He is a six-time National Basketball League champion and a six-time NBL Coach of the Year, with significant coaching stints in China and the United States.

He coached the Bay Area Dragons to the finals of last year’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup but fell to Cone and the Kings before a record crowd at the Philippine Arena.

But it wasn’t his most significant feat on Asian soil. Two years before handling the Dragons, Goorjian coached the Australian national team to a bronze medal finish in the Tokyo Olympics.

Bannered by National Basketball Association stalwarts Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles, and Dante Exum, the Australians swept the preliminaries before beating Argentina in the quarterfinals.

They succumbed to the mighty Americans, led by Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum, in the semifinals but bounced back and beat Luka Doncic and the Slovenians in the battle for third to salvage a historic bronze medal.

Goorjian’s performance should merit him a shot at big-time coaching. But instead of landing at least an NBA gig, he stayed put as Australia’s national team mentor while entertaining offers from various clubs — the latest as a consultant of Strong Group Athletics in the ongoing 33rd Dubai International Basketball Championship.

Goorjian said he is ready to embrace the challenge of coaching the Philippines once his contract with the Australians expires after the Paris Olympics in September.

Cone and Goorjian are two of the brightest minds in basketball. They are both outspoken, credible, experienced, and relatable to Filipino players.

But whoever the SBP formally taps — whether it’s the charismatic and popular Cone or the tactical Goorjian — one thing is sure: Change is coming to Philippine basketball.

And it’s going to be a major treat for basketball-crazy Filipinos.